


Mixed Manifest Destiny

by ElizabethWilde



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Dopplegangers, First Meetings, M/M, Minor Character Death, Recreational Drug Use, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:28:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23933089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElizabethWilde/pseuds/ElizabethWilde
Summary: Mystic Falls is a messy kind of a place. Things get even messier when Klaus comes into town trailing Jeremy Gilbert’s doppelganger. Destiny isn’t always everything it’s cracked up to be. Alternate universe to make everything gayer. Because we can.Tags, warnings, and pairings will be updated as chapters are added.Co-written with Michael Collins, who doesn't have an account. But is still awesome.
Relationships: Jeremy Gilbert/Damon Salvatore, mild Jeremy Gilbert/Original Male Character (OMC)
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note: This fic *is* unfinished, but currently 17 chapters are complete.

Jeremy Gilbert had always been led to believe that drugs would dull the pain. It turned out to be the exact opposite. There were a few blissful moments of mind-altering numbness, but once the high died down, the hurt returned tenfold. Three months had passed since his parents had died in a terrible car accident. Although everyone around him insisted that time healed all wounds, Jeremy could only find solace in marijuana and various combinations of pharmaceutical cocktails. He'd already been labeled an 'emo' and that he was effectively 'rebelling'. But, it went far deeper than that.

Jeremy had given up on having a good time for the night when he realized the 'friends' he'd been partying with had either abandoned him or were passed out in heaps on the ground. He staggered forward through the woods, his mind half-clouded as he took a familiar shortcut through the Mystic Falls cemetery on his way home.

Teenagers hadn't gotten any smarter. Damon supposed that some things really never changed. Stupid kids were always stupid kids. Thankfully those patterns made picking out a snack that much easier. He smiled to himself and surveyed the options. Most of the teens were already passed out. Convenient, but not much fun. Shacking up with his brother was painful enough without having to settle for the lowest common denominator on the menu. There was precisely one reason to hang out in Mystic Falls, one thing that could bring him back - well, one person. The rest was just killing time. And maybe driving Stefan a little crazy in the meanwhile. 

The sound of movement not far off drew Damon's attention at once, and he slipped through the trees until he was shadowing the figure: slight build, shaggy brown hair, slogging through the leaves as if his feet were made of lead. Easy pickings, but at least he was moving enough to be entertaining. All it took was one quick movement and Damon had grabbed the boy by the arm and slammed him up against the nearest tree. The taunting words died on his lips and a look of absolute confusion took over. "What are you doing here?"

It all happened so fast that Jeremy barely had time to register that he was being grabbed and forcibly thrown against the rough surface of a tree. Gasping as he struggled to catch his breath, he blinked through the curtain of hair draped across his eyes at the stranger holding him fast. "I was on my way home," he snapped, his head clearing slightly. "Why? What's it got to do with you?" The stranger looked as if he'd just seen a ghost, and the momentary distraction offered Jeremy a chance to wriggle free. 

Damon stared at the young man incredulously before finally swallowing and straightening. It wasn't him. Of course it wasn't. No matter what his eyes told him, the teenager in front of him was very human and apparently a complete stranger. Well, it did simplify his plans for the evening. Changing tactics, Damon smiled and reached out to tip Jeremy's head up so that their eyes met. A little compulsion and it wouldn't matter whether they knew each other or not. "You're going to come home with me, and we are going to have a whole lot of fun."

For the briefest moment Jeremy very nearly complied. Then, he shook his head and angrily batted the stranger's hands away. "What's your problem?" he exclaimed. "I don't know you, and I'm not going home with you!" Was this guy on something even more powerful than Jeremy had ingested? It was a distinct possibility. Otherwise, how would it explain what this stranger was doing in the cemetery in the middle of the night. With a meaningful shove, Jeremy pushed himself away and eased out from between the newcomer and the tree. He noticed a thick, billowing fog carpeting the ground and shivered, wondering if tonight he'd gone a little far with the drugs. This was one hell of a crazy trip he was on.

Well, that was definitely disappointing. The boy seemed clueless, and Damon found himself wondering who exactly was looking out for him. "Fine, your loss, but I saw your buddies back there," he glanced back through the tombstones. Through the fog, it was barely possible to make out the mausoleum they'd clustered around. "You aren't going to be getting any better offers. Has anyone ever told you that you need prettier friends? And I’m Damon. Now you know me."

Jeremy turned, regarding the other man and trying to ignore how piercing those bewitching blue eyes were. He flushed warmly, glancing toward the gravestones. "Who said I was looking for an offer?" Jeremy countered, his gaze flicking back to Damon. Okay, he had to admit that none of his druggie friends--let alone anyone in school--came close to being as attractive as Damon. And it wasn't everyday that someone blatantly showed their interest in him... even if this guy had a weird way of doing it. "Anyway, I've got to get home. It's late enough as it is." Not that he cared, but a part of him didn't want to make Damon think he was a total loser. Jeremy started to turn and walk away, only to pause and look back. "And I'm Jeremy, by the way."

"I'll remember that." The boy was flustered - blushing, heart pounding, and it was absolutely fucking adorable. He was interested even if he wasn't quite willing to say so yet. "We'll see each other again. Soon." Very soon if Damon had anything at all to say about it. He didn't have an explanation for Jeremy just yet, but he would. There were definitely worse ways to pass his time. "Maybe next time you won't be so shy." He moved in a little closer and added, "The offer stands."

Jeremy swallowed, feeling more nervous and unsure than ever before. Although meeting Damon had sobered him considerably, Jeremy still wasn't entirely sure it wasn't all some hazy, drug-fueled dream. A part of him wanted to jump at the offer; there was a palpable air of danger surrounding Damon which Jeremy found more alluring than the narcotics he'd been ingesting over the past few months. Wasn't that what he wanted? To lose himself? Only Jeremy had yet to fully admit or give into his burgeoning attraction for men. Being presented with Damon's tempting form scared him. "Thanks," he tried not to stammer. "Just so you know, I'm about as far from shy as you can get." Fire and bluster, that's all it was, but Jeremy was determined not to let Damon see how rattled he was.

"Promising." Damon could hear the faint tremor of unease in Jeremy's voice, but he appreciated the attempt at confidence anyway. He wasn't a wilting flower. That was good. They required far too much maintenance. "Well, if you're sure you have to go home... I still need to see about a bite to eat." Damon found himself lingering, searching Jeremy's face. The resemblance wasn't a coincidence, that much he was sure of. "Like I said, you'll have other chances to say yes instead, but there's no time like the present." 

Damon stared at him as if they'd always known each other. It was incredibly unnerving, and one of the reasons Jeremy did not readily accept the other man's offer. "No, I've got to get back," he replied, finding it more and more difficult to think clearly the longer he stayed in Damon's presence. "First day of school tomorrow. You know what that's like." Jeremy reckoned that Damon was a college guy, which made the flirting all the more jarring. "Maybe I’ll see you around?" //Okay, leave now. Go.// Forcing his legs into action, the teenager hurried through the fog-shrouded cemetery before he could change his mind.

It was most definitely settling, but Damon couldn't resist circling back to the circle of burnouts. He was still hungry, and they were easy pickings. Maybe next time he wouldn't be left quite so unsatisfied. Coming so close had left him absolutely ravenous. Damon grabbed the closest of the lounging figures in the circle and sank his fangs in. It might not be what he wanted, but it would do. For now.

\------------------------------

Alaric jolted up from the couch at the sound of footsteps upstairs. As if coming in the window would somehow help. He sighed. It had been hard stepping into the role of pseudo parent to two teenagers. Elena did her best to make the situation tolerable for everyone. She was a peacemaker, and he thanked his lucky stars for that fact considering Jeremy was hell bent on driving the both of them to an early grave. He needed protecting - he just didn't happen to see it that way. Ric trudged up the steps and took a deep breath before knocking sharply on Jeremy's door. "Trust me, you want to open it voluntarily."

Distracted by his encounter with Damon, Jeremy hadn't been quite as stealthy about sneaking into the house as usual. He exhaled and his shoulders slumped in defeat. The last thing he wanted tonight was to have a confrontation with Ric over his nocturnal comings and goings. Shrugging out of his jacket, Jeremy switched on the lamp by his bed before answering the door. "I'm home, safe and sound," he announced before his guardian could get a word in. "Can we save the talk for tomorrow? I mean, if you want me to be up bright and early for school?" Jeremy didn't mean to sound surly and disrespectful. He just needed to be alone and sort out his feelings.

"Oh, you will be if I have to drag you out of bed myself," Ric answered. The last thing he needed was some kind of investigation from child protective services. Something told him they wouldn't understand a trunk full of hunting equipment that had absolutely nothing to do with taking down deer. "What I want to know is where you were and why you smell like the inside of a bong." Getting Jeremy to school wouldn't help if he was so baked he had no idea where he was. When that yielded no immediate results, Alaric sighed and leaned against the doorframe. "I know I'm not your dad. I know this is all still kinda weird. It is for me too... but I'm trying here. Think maybe you could try too? You're not the only one starting class tomorrow."

Alaric's words were an all too painful reminder of everything he'd lost, and Jeremy visibly winced. It took every ounce of self restraint not to snap at the older man. He did not want to delve into this. Not tonight. Jeremy suddenly found himself wishing he had taken Damon up on his offer after all. Another long, deep sigh, and he flopped down on the bed. "Me and some friends went out and celebrated our last night of freedom before school," he explained, hoping it would be good enough for Ric. "I just didn't want to be alone tonight, okay?" Now Jeremy was opening up a little more than he'd intended. Ric had been great - cool even - but it didn't help matters when his guardian turned all parental because Ric just happened to be an attractive older man, and Jeremy had enough confusion going on without having to deal with that.

//Didn’t want to be alone...// That much Alaric could definitely understand. He'd spent way too many nights alone himself since his wife disappeared. "Okay," he agreed once the silence drew out long enough to be uncomfortable. "I just want you to be careful. I want you to do well. I just... you have to look out for yourself. Anyway, get some sleep. Bright and early tomorrow." He hesitated, found nothing else to say and no better way to express to Jeremy that he needed to be careful aside from just saying it and finally closed the door. Down the hall in his own room, he sighed. It wasn't getting any easier.

\----------------------

Jeremy didn’t even make it to first period before the shit hit the fan. A guy he barely knew whipped out a phone and showed him an article from the local paper. “Dude, isn’t this where you go to get baked?” Jeremy had scanned the article, feeling his knees giving out as he read through the lines detailing how the bodies of several local teenagers had been found in the woods, victims of some sort of animal attack. 

Before he realized what was happening, Jeremy ran from the cafeteria and burst out of the school. He bent over double, sucking in great lungfuls of air. An animal attack? How? What kind of animal could kill that many people? And what about Damon? If Damon hadn't just been a figment of his drug-addled imagination... then, was he...? Jeremy glanced up, fear gripping him and... he froze, blinking. Just beyond the fence... was that Damon? Damon leaning up against a black convertible?

It wasn't that he'd thought it would be hard to spot Jeremy in a crowd, but he hadn't expected it to be so easy. He hadn't expected that the young man would literally come running into his arms - well, close enough. Damon smiled. The day was looking up already. When Jeremy remained frozen, simply staring at him through the wire, Damon finally pushed away from the car and took a few steps closer. "Well, are you coming? You look upset, and no one should have to be alone when they're upset." The lack of ability to use compulsion made things a little harder, but Jeremy was a teenage boy, and their needs were simple: sex and food. "I'm taking you out to dinner."

Jeremy peered through the wire fence for what seemed like an eternity. //He's real. I didn't imagine him.// And, most importantly, Jeremy noted with relief, Damon wasn't among those slaughtered in the woods. His fingers curled through the chain links as he moved closer, his heart thudding against his ribs. Without a word--or a thought for the classes he would miss--Jeremy scrambled over the fence and landed in front of Damon. "Are you okay?" he asked breathlessly. "Did you hear what happened last night? All those guys I was hanging out with... they were attacked by some animal."

"Really?" Damon's eyebrows lifted in mock surprise. "Good thing you got home safely, then. I headed out just after you. Dangerous place." He reached out, running his thumb over the curve of the young man's jaw in the guise of checking for injuries. He could be the key. Jeremy could be precisely what he'd been hoping to find. Even knowing that it was damn near impossible to keep from slamming him against the car and draining him in front of god and everyone. "Did you see anything?" Damon stepped away and opened the door in silent invitation for Jeremy to climb in. The second he'd climbed over the fence, he'd made the decision to say yes.

Damon's touch left Jeremy shivering, and he dumbly struggled to answer. "No, nothing." Without even thinking twice about it, he was easing into the passenger seat of the older man's car. He could just imagine Elena and Ric's reactions to his skipping school and running off with someone he barely knew, but somehow Jeremy could not bring himself to care. "We must've both left before... it all happened," he faltered, unwilling to contemplate on what might have happened if he and Damon had lingered near the woods too long.

"Must have," Damon agreed easily as he slid into the driver's seat. "Lucky us." He started the car and peeled away from the curb with a smile. "Sorry about your friends. Then again, seems like they were a bad influence. Drugs, underage drinking... you should leave that to losers with no future." The obvious move would have been wining and dining of some sort. Instead Damon pulled up to a rather run down looking stand that proclaimed it served the best burgers in Mystic Falls. "It's not false advertising either. C'mon." Damon climbed out and left Jeremy to follow before ordering for the both of them. He held up an imperious finger when the young man tried to chime in. "Trust me on this. You want the cheeseburger with onion rings."

Damon ordered a pair of chocolate shakes to go with it and handed over the cash for it over Jeremy’s weak protests. “You know, you keep looking at me like you don’t understand what I’m doing here. Who exactly would you expect me to take out for burgers instead?”

Jeremy smiled shyly when Damon returned, murmuring a "Thanks" as he reached for one of the shakes. He briefly wondered how Damon had figured out that chocolate was his favorite. In fact, he was something of a chocolate junkie. "I don't know," Jeremy replied in answer to the other man's question. "Maybe somebody who's not as messed up as me?" He slurped from the straw, feeling even more drawn to Damon the more time he spent in his company. For the first time since his parents' death, Jeremy almost felt like his old self again. 

"Yeah, because I'm sure no one else in town has any issues at all. I certainly don't. Perfect childhood, perfect relationship with my brother. Did you know that Mother Teresa's actually my grandmother?" Damon gave the words a moment to sink in as they both ate. The pep talk wasn't strictly necessary, but he couldn't quite stop himself. Maybe it was just the fact that he looked so much like.... but there was something else too. There was something more. "You're going to spend the rest of your life having people tell you what's wrong with you. Don't do it to yourself."

"Okay, I won't," Jeremy agreed, feeling his mood lifting. Whether it was the chocolate or Damon's influence, he wasn't really sure. Either way, he wasn't as inclined to wallow in depression. Jeremy even managed another smile, which made his facial muscles ache from lack of use. "Tell me, are you new in town? Because I think I would've remembered seeing you around here before." Now that was an understatement. Someone as physically attractive as Damon was pretty hard to miss in a small, boring, middle of nowhere place like Mystic Falls. 

"Reborn," Damon answered with a smile before elaborating, "I'm newly back in town. My brother and I... our family goes way back. The Salvatores were one of the founding families, but we've been traveling. Separately. When I heard Stefan was back... well, I decided it was time to head home." Then there were his other concerns, but Jeremy definitely wasn't ready to hear about that quite yet. "What about you? Native?"

"Salvatores?" Jeremy glanced up, his eyes widening in surprise. Damon Salvatore. He never would have guessed. "So, you live in that big old house on the edge of town?" Another crooked grin as he flicked errant bangs out of his eyes. "You know they say that place is haunted." He followed that with a soft chuckle, "Yeah, I'm very native. I'm a Gilbert. Founding family, just like you." 

"Well aren't we a perfect pair." Damon couldn't help staring. It was hard not to. Despite himself he liked Jeremy. He also wanted to fuck him across the table, but he found himself genuinely liking the mortal. Now if only he knew why the young man happened to look exactly like his entombed lover, the world could get back to making some sort of sense again. "As for the house, I'd be happy to give you a tour. Maybe we can find a ghost or two."

"Yeah?" Jeremy realized that he probably shouldn't have been surprised by the invitation. After all, Damon had come on pretty strong ever since their paths crossed last night. He felt another fluttering of nerves, which he quickly tamped down with another long sip of his shake. "I'd love to see it," Jeremy swallowed. "We could go this afternoon... if that's okay?" he suggested eagerly. The day was already shot. Besides, what did he have to lose?

Thinking back to the guest he had waiting for him at the mansion, Damon reluctantly amended, "Tomorrow. Give me a chance to straighten up. My brother's a slob." That was, of course, the farthest thing from the truth, but it didn't really matter. He’d picked up a little takeout the night before, and he’d need to make sure his guest was seen out before taking Jeremy home. Seeing the hint of disappointment on Jeremy's face, he reached for the young man's hand and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of it. "I promise I'll make the wait worth your while."

Okay, now things like definitely did not happen to Jeremy Gilbert. Any second now he fully expected Tyler and his jock cronies to hope out from hiding to reveal they'd paid Damon to lead him on. But no one turned up, and Damon kept gazing at him with that devilish smile quirking one corner of his mouth. "I'm gonna hold you to that," Jeremy replied, sounding bolder than he actually felt. Damon left him continually off-balance, the whole world reeling around him. "Tomorrow night? I kinda doubt I can cut classes again."

"Tomorrow night," Damon agreed. "And I think everyone deserves to cut classes now and then. You just can't afford to make it a habit." Try as he might, Damon couldn't tear his eyes away for a moment. There was so much about the blushing mortal that was familiar and yet so many things that were different. It fascinated him. The shy smiles, the easy declarations of bold intent with no real strength behind them, they all painted a picture of someone who was both strong and fragile. Alex had certainly never been fragile. "If you happen to see my brother, tell him hello. I think he's a year ahead of you."

"Your brother?" It hadn't even occurred to Jeremy that Damon might have siblings, let alone one attending his school. "He might know my sister, Elena. She's just a year older than me." He shied away from Damon's gaze, which seemed to pierce right through him. It still made absolutely no sense that a guy like this was interested in him. Glancing down at his freshly kissed hand, there was no doubt in his mind that Damon really was interested. Jeremy briefly wondered if he should confess that all he'd ever done with another guy was making out. And that said guy had been among those stoners in the woods last night.

Catching the sudden shift in Jeremy's mood, Damon ventured, "You okay over there?" Honestly it was a miracle that he'd forgotten his fallen friends for so long. Damon knew it had been wishful thinking to suspect that he could charm Jeremy away from the memory the whole time they were together. If he could just take him home... but that would only complicate matters for the moment. Best to get his houseguest moved along first. "I suppose I really should get you back to class before someone notices."

Time had flown by so quickly that Jeremy wasn't even aware that he'd polished off both his hamburger and shake. All that was left were a few onion rings scattered haphazardly around. "Yeah, I guess so," he conceded, flashing another boyish grin in Damon's direction. "I wouldn't want to get even more grounded than I already am. Then I'd have to end up sneaking out again tomorrow night." It might have sounded playful, but Jeremy also wanted to make it clear that if the need arose, stealing time to see Damon again was something he was more than willing to do.

"Well I'd hate to encourage delinquent behavior." In fact, he'd love to encourage it, but that wouldn't get him off on the right foot, and he just might need the leeway depending on how things went. When they reached the car, Damon held the door for Jeremy again and then took his place behind the wheel. "You be a good little boy tonight, and tomorrow I'll reward you with some truly inappropriate behavior. How's that sound?"

If Jeremy had still been eating, then he was sure he might have choked on his food. No one had ever talked to him that way before. No one had ever stirred up feelings in him like Damon had. "That sounds amazing, actually," he replied, still ever so slightly out of breath. "How will you know if I've been good or not?" Jeremy flashed the other man a playful grin. His flirting skills were criminally underdeveloped, but he didn't think Damon cared one way or the other. 

"Years of experience in not being good," Damon answered, flashing the teen a smile as he pulled up to the school again. "So behave." It was getting more and more difficult not to pull away and go back to the mansion. It might mean Jeremy putting a few too many pieces together, but, then again, if his pounding pulse was any indication, he might be far too distracted to care. It was playing with fire, though, and with an effort, Damon stuck to his guns. One day. One more day. It wasn't so much considering how long he'd been waiting.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcannon casting for Samuel is Samuel Larsen because I think he's gorgeous.

Samuel's eyes flickered open, and a ragged groan erupted from his throat. He blinked and tried to lift his head up, but everything swam around him. His neck ached, throbbing in time with his heartbeat. Something had happened last night... something bad. Only, he couldn't quite fit the blurry images together in his mind to figure out exactly what. Sam reached up and brushed his fingers through something wet and sticky. It stretched from his neck all the way down his shoulder. He raised his digits and stared at them, finding his fingers stained with blood. He realized he should have been alarmed--terrified, even--but, for some strange reason, he wasn't in the slightest.

"Oh, good, you're awake." Damon slung his jacket over the back of a nearby chair and then fell into the chair himself. He regarded the young man with curiosity. He didn't seem to be having any kind of breakdown, which was to be admired considering the situation, and he was a hot piece of ass. It was for the best that he hadn't been killed, Damon supposed, since he definitely needed an outlet. If he was going to keep from devouring Jeremy, he was going to have to have some fun in the meantime. "How are you feeling?" he asked with an air of marked indifference.

Strangely, Sam felt calm and relaxed. His eyelids, heavy with fatigue, lifted with an effort to regard the other man. To describe him as gorgeous would have been a supreme understatement. Sam had never seen anyone quite like him in Mystic Falls. "Okay, I guess," Sam replied uncertainly. "You brought me here, didn't you?" His memory was a little foggy, but again, he didn't feel panicked or threatened. In fact, he wanted to be here.

"I brought you here, I sucked your blood... unfortunately you were a little out of it. If you’d been a little less screwed up… well, I really considered fucking your brains out." Still, it was no fun to screw someone who wasn't even conscious, so he'd decided to wait. "Now you're going to tell me some things and maybe I can let you sleep. Sit up." Damon gave the young man a moment to comply before demanding, "Tell me everything you know about Jeremy Gilbert."

"Jeremy?" Samuel echoed, unconsciously touching his throat again. He should have been terrified to learn that Damon was not only a vampire, but he'd also been fed upon. Instead he remained strangely at ease. "He's a friend from school. Used to be one of the popular kids, but then he turned into a loner after his parents died over the summer." Sam propped himself up on some pillows, feeling a little stronger as he continued, "Jeremy started hanging out with us, the stoners. He kept saying he needed something, so I gave him some pills and stuff." A smile curled his lip. "We've made out a few times. He's cute, isn't he?"

Damon's gaze narrowed at once. He wasn't sure whether it pissed him off more that this was the idiot who'd started Jeremy taking drugs or because the idiot had touched him. Kissed him. Maybe more. Yes, that was definitely the thing that pissed him off the most. "So you're the one that dragged him in?" There was  
distinctly menacing edge to Damon's voice. "He's too good to be hanging around trash like you."

Samuel jerked back as if Damon had physically struck him. "Why are you getting angry with me?" he asked, genuinely puzzled. "I told you everything you wanted to know about Jeremy. I thought that's what you wanted." Although Damon seemed on the verge of leaping from the chair and throttling him, Sam remained calm and not the least bit worried. For some strange reason he wanted to please Damon, and apparently he'd only succeeded in doing the exact opposite.

The boy was an idiot. Even for someone who was compelled, he was an idiot. "It is. It was. I want to know everything. Are the two of you dating?" Jeremy might be more than slightly put out if his boyfriend was killed, but if they were just occasional make out buddies, it made the dreadlocked stoner a far more promising candidate to share a grave with the other losers. "Have you slept with him?"

"No," Samuel answered with a shake of his dreadlocks. "We've only fooled around." He paused, then clarified, "Made out, y'know? Jeremy's a sweet guy. He likes to act all tough and shit, but he's really shy." Sam grinned, as if he'd just remembered a private joke. "I think he's saving himself for the right person or something." He didn't understand why Damon seemed to be so interested in Jeremy Gilbert, but if the vampire wanted to know about him, then Sam had no other choice but to obey.

"If he's so sweet, why did you give him drugs and take advantage of him?" He knew logically that it was ridiculous to be so up in arms. He did drugs himself on a fairly regular basis. He enjoyed them. Frankly he didn't care if anyone else did them or if they engaged in casual sex. But somehow the idea that Samuel had lured Jeremy into drug use and then made out with him while he was high pissed him off. 

Samuel blinked, taken aback by such an odd question. "I never took advantage of him," he countered, narrowing his gaze. "Jeremy started hanging out with all of us, and he asked me to give him something. So, I did." Sam continued to absently finger the wound on his throat while eying Damon curiously. "If you don't want me to give him drugs anymore, then I won't." He chewed on his bottom lip, and then added, "And I won't make out with him anymore either."

"No. You won't." It would have been easy enough for Damon to simply order the boy to stay away from Jeremy at all costs, but that somehow didn't sound like punishment enough for what he'd done already. Instead he crossed the scant distance between them and snapped the boy's head hard to the side. He fell back against the couch, dead before his weight even settled. It was too bad. He was awfully cute and- Damon cursed as he noted how well the teenager's wound from the night before had healed. He'd been stoned himself from feeding off of the drugged out morons in the clearing and had apparently forgotten that he'd fed the boy some blood to help him heal. "Well, this just got messy."

"What just got messy?" Before he had a chance to question further, the unmistakable scent of blood reached him. Stefan tensed, always finding it a struggle to resist the lure of feeding. It did not help that he was already concerned over talk of a strange animal attack in the woods. Damon's return to Mystic Falls was to blame, and Stefan had no idea how he might tackle the problem. "Damon..." He stopped short, finding his brother hovering beside the body of a young man on the sofa. "What have you done?"

"I may have accidentally made a new friend," Damon answered with a sigh. For once he deserved at least a little of Stefan's disapproving glare. He'd intended to see that the boy wasn't a threat at all anymore, and instead he'd created a potential eternal rival for Jeremy's affections. Whatever his initial intentions to use Jeremy as a tool, Damon found himself quickly realizing that he wanted a good deal more than that. "Last night was a little bit of a blur... and I made a slight miscalculation."

"You call this a slight miscalculation?" Stefan snapped after examining the body. He grabbed the front of his brother's shirt and slammed him against the nearest wall. "What the hell have you been doing?" he angrily demanded. "You waltz back into town unannounced, and you're not here a few hours before there's an 'animal attack' in the woods." Stefan shook his head in exasperation, releasing his grip. "Do you want them to find out about us? Do you?"

"They're trying so hard not to see that they never will," Damon answered with a roll of his eyes before carefully prying off Stefan's fingers and stepping aside. "And ow, by the way. You don't have to be so damned dramatic about everything. So a few stoners got attacked by a 'wild animal.' No one will miss them." He glanced down at Sam. That, admittedly, was slightly harder to explain. "Him I'll need to find a place for. I'm expecting company this evening."

"You're bringing someone here... tonight?" Stefan simply could not believe Damon's gall. "Are you insane? We've got this to deal with..." he paused, indicating the body, "...and all you can think about is entertaining?" Effortlessly he lifted Samuel and hauled him away from the sofa. Stefan knew his brother all-too-well. Damon would leave him to clean up his mess while he went and created another one. 

"Oh, he's only temporarily dead. Get over it, Stefan. He will… eventually. Put him in the basement with a bag of blood and I'll figure it out in the morning." At least down there he wouldn't be able to interrupt, and Stefan was obviously bent on some sort of immediate solution. "If you thought more about entertaining, maybe you'd waste less time writing mopey diary entries about the pain of your existence. It gets old."

Stefan ignored that remark even as he glowered at his brother. "You're up to something, Damon," he accused. "I don't know what it is, but I'm going to find out. You would never come back here without a reason." With that, he carried Samuel's body away and down into the basement. As tragic as it might be, Stefan almost hoped the boy would decide not to make the transition. He had enough to deal with now that Damon was recklessly attacking people. The last thing he or Mystic Falls needed was another wild card.

Having trailed after his brother when he headed downstairs, Damon gave a shake of his head. "It pains me that you don't think I'd come just to see you. You're right, but it still pains me. Besides, you're here too, and something tells me you didn't come to the old stomping grounds just for sentimental reasons. We both have things we need, Stefan. There's no reason we have to be at odds." 

"Then stop feeding on humans," Stefan countered, even though he knew he was wasting his time suggesting it. He opened the heavy old door to the basement and carried Samuel inside. Stefan was far more gentle with the corpse than Damon would have ever been. Lying the boy down on a cot set against one of the walls, Stefan turned back to face his brother. "If you're serious about staying in Mystic Falls, then you're going to have to play by their rules." He folded his arms across his chest, adding, "It won't be long before the Council starts hunting for that 'wild animal'."

Much as he hated to concede a second point to his brother in a single evening, Damon couldn't really disagree. "Fine. I'll play nice. I have no intention of treating Bambi and Thumper as a food source, but I'll be a bit more... discreet." Had it been only for Stefan, he would gladly have caused his brother as much trouble as possible and disappeared into the ether again. Unfortunately Damon had loftier goals that for the moment that involved getting Jeremy Gilbert into bed as soon as possible. "Let it never be said that I can't be a gracious housemate."

Now Stefan was even more suspicious of his brother's motives. It wasn't like Damon to easily agree to anything. "Can't you be content with a freezer full of blood bags?" he asked, reaching for a chair and setting it close to the cot. "I don't know how the hospital makes do. You must have raided their entire supply already." Considering that Damon was offering to be more cooperative, Stefan didn't mean to sound quite as disapproving. He softened his scowl, adding, "Just be careful, Damon. If we both want to fit in here, we don't want to draw any unneeded attention to ourselves."

"I'm bad at being a wallflower," Damon answered with a sigh as he leaned back against the wall. "It's boring." Life, honestly, had gotten boring lately. It was one of the reasons he'd wanted to come and free Alex to begin with. He was tired of wandering around, bored and lonely and adrift. It was time to find a little direction, a little spice again. Even slaughter wasn't much fun. If it hadn't been for the sense of vindication he felt tearing apart the idiots who'd dragged Jeremy down to their level, the previous night would have barely been a blip on the radar. "But I'll try."

As if on cue, the boy on the cot sat bolt upright, his eyes wide. “What the hell happened? Where the hell am I?”

"You're going to be alright," Stefan told him as gently as possible. "What's your name?"

"Sam... Samuel..." The boy's eyes widened as he caught sight of Damon hovering behind the stranger. "You..." His hazy memories began to coalesce into something solid and real. "You! You killed me!"

Damon rolled his eyes again. "So dramatic! It wasn’t permanent." Granted, it should have been, but there was no reason for the panicking boy on the cot to know that. "You're fine. Mostly. This charming gentleman is my brother Stefan. I have a date tonight, so you'll be spending the evening with him. Or alone here if he gets bored with you." It was callous, but he couldn't bring himself to feel particularly bad for scum like Samuel even if he was gorgeous. "You have a choice to make, so I'll either see you in the morning or... well, or never."

"What? No, that's..." Sam trailed off. He was going to say that it was impossible, that vampires didn't exist. But, taking in everything that happened, it all made a crazy kind of sense. Trembling fingers reached up to touch his throat, where Sam found the bite marks had miraculously vanished. He wanted to believe that he'd overdosed and that this was all part of a very bad trip. "So, what happens now?" he asked a little more calmly.

Damon picked up a bag of blood and tossed it toward the boy. "Drink up! At least if you want to live. Or abstain and pretend you're the kind of saint you'll never actually be and die. It's up to you." He had to admit to some curiosity about what the boy would choose. Some people obviously found the idea of living off blood to be slightly distasteful, but since Sam had been living on drugs and booze and Cheetos for awhile by Damien's estimation, he suspected the boy might be more pragmatic about it. "Either way, you stay down here for the night. Like I said, I have plans, and those plans don't include having to chase you down if you decide to go on a rampage tearing people's throats out. Not very romantic."

"Damon!" Stefan exclaimed, whirling around to face his brother. "You're taking his choice away from him..." Just as he had done with Damon a long time ago. The guilt weighed heavily on his heart, and Stefan didn't want to see someone else go through the same ordeal. He started to snatch the blood bag away from Samuel, but it was too late. Sam had wrenched the top open and was drinking greedily, an expression of supreme ecstasy on his face.

"You should relax, brother." The more he thought about it, the more beneficial it sounded to have Samuel running around town as well. "If they do start investigating these animal attacks, I think it might behoove us to have a friend or two." Damon wasn't going to come right out and say what he really meant in front of Samuel, but he knew his intentions would be clear enough. "Let him enjoy it. He had a rough night last night."

Stefan arched a brow before casting a subtle glance at Samuel, who was busy devouring the contents of the blood bag. Trust Damon to suggest something underhanded. He knew his brother had had a reason for wanting to keep this boy around. The truth was, he fully expected Damon to stake Samuel if he decided to complete the transition. Stefan moved across to his brother, taking him by the arm and nudging him none-too-gently out of the basement door. "Why don't you let me handle this? You're only making things worse." He indicated the stairs with a nod of his head, adding meaningfully, "Didn't you have something you wanted to do?"

"That I do. Have fun, boys!" Damon called as he turned on his heel and headed back upstairs. He most definitely had better things to do.

*****

When the door opened, Damon found himself face to face not with his date for the evening but with a handsome older blond who looked none too happy to have a visitor. "I'm here for Jeremy."

Ric's eyes narrowed, and he looked the other man over. When Jeremy had off-handedly mentioned at dinner that he wasn't eating because he had a date, he'd expected one of the trashy girls he'd become unfortunately used to seeing his ward with. This was... unexpected. "And you are?"

"Damon. Damon Salvatore. Lovely to meet you." There was only a slight trace of sarcasm in the words, which Damon considered a personal victory. There was no sense in getting off on entirely the wrong foot, after all. 

Jeremy could just about discern the top of Damon's head over Ric's shoulder. And, judging by Ric's stance, the older man had his arms crossed and was more than likely scowling disapprovingly at Damon. Jeremy sported a frown of his own. Ric was obviously being overprotective. Why else hadn't he invited Damon inside? "Hi!" Jeremy called out. Grabbing his jacket from the coat rack beside the door, he brushed past Ric and joined Damon outside. It was a school night and Jeremy knew Ric's be-home-early speech was inevitable, so he tried to cut him off at the pass. "I'll be back before dawn this time--I promise."

"You'll be back before curfew," Ric corrected, though he was pleased to see Jeremy clean and well groomed. He'd been going out looking mostly homeless for awhile. Seeing him putting forth some effort was a good sign, but the older man he was going out with still raised at least a dozen red flags. "You two meet at school?"

"Why no, I'm actually not in school. Old family money... I'm afraid it really can make you lazy." Damon's smile was a charming challenge, and he thrilled inside as the man decided to back down. It was for Jeremy's sake and not his own, but every victory was something.

Ric gave a faint nod, still not the least bit happy, and warned Jeremy, "In case you've conveniently forgotten, curfew's eleven on school nights. I expect you back by then... or earlier."

"Oh, I'll have him back safe and sound before then." Damon gave a mocking salute before slinging an arm around Jeremy's shoulder and leading him toward the car. He leaned in and whispered in the young man's ear, "So who's the bodyguard?"

Jeremy shivered--first at the touch of Damon's arm, and then his hushed words gusting close against his skin. "Ric?" He caught himself before he could stammer. "Elena and me... we didn't have anyone to take care of us when our parents died." His heart clenched. Once again, the memory was too raw. "Ric, he teaches history at the high school, and he offered to fill in." Jeremy gave a little shrug and glanced back at the house. "He's okay. All bark and no bite. I... erm... hope he's not gonna scare you off or anything."

"I'm not easy to scare," Damon answered as he held the door open for the young man. It was difficult letting him go again, but there would be plenty of time for closeness if the night went the way he hoped it would. "I thought that since I promised a tour of the house, maybe we could just pick something up on the way?" With no objections from Jeremy, they swung by a pizza place and left with a large before making their way to the Salvatore mansion. "It's old, and the antiques are... well, they aren't my style, but it's home." Damon unlocked the door and was pleased to find the inside as quiet as the outside. "My brother's out tonight." Actually, he was in, but that didn't really matter. Stefan wasn't going to be in their way.

Jeremy tried to play it cool. Only it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep up the facade the more time he spent in Damon's company. It still seemed unbelievable to him that a guy like Damon would find him interesting, let alone desirable. Jeremy shook his head, grinning to himself in wonderment when Damon made it clear that they would be alone together. "This place... it's cool... really cool," he said, hating himself for sounding like a foolish teenager. "I mean, it's more impressive than I imagined." //Okay, that was a little better.// Jeremy flushed, switching his attention from the mansion back to Damon. Recalling their first encounter, he couldn't help but wish the older man would grab him again... press him against the wall... and... 

His heart pounding, Jeremy none-too-subtly peeled off his jacket as he warmed right through his clothes. "D'you wanna eat first, or give me a tour?" he asked, hiding shy eyes beneath his bangs.

"Both. The dining room happens to be included on the tour," Damon answered with a slick smile as he took the young man's jacket and draped it over the back of the couch. Still balancing the pizza on one hand, he took Jeremy's in the other and led him through the cavernous living room to the dining room. It was formal, fancy, and far too large. Damon relished the contrast as he set down the pizza and hurried to the kitchen, returning with two beers. "Just in case anyone would care to accuse me of being entirely against juvenile delinquency - though I could get you a Coke if you prefer." He liked the idea of Jeremy a little buzzed, but judging by the way his heart was pumping, the mortal wouldn't need the extra lubrication to his libido.

"No, this is fine," Jeremy replied, his cheeks visibly warming all over again. "Thanks." He sat down at the table, glancing around with open curiosity while sporting a boyish grin. "So, you never did tell me if this place is really haunted or not." Diving into the pizza more out of way to cover his nerves than from actual hunger, Jeremy couldn't help but feel Damon's eyes--those stunning, beautiful eyes--burning right through him. No drug in the world could possibly compare to the effect Damon had on him. He wondered if Damon realized what he was doing to him. It might explain that ever-present sly smirk etched across his handsome face.

"I don't believe in ghosts," Damon answered with a hint of a smile before grabbing a slice from the box. "But if you're scared, I promise I'll stay very, very close." He intended to do that either way. By the end of the night, he intended to have Jeremy in his bed, and Damon rarely had to take no for an answer. "Personally I just think there have just been too many people and too many memories bumping around in here. Anyplace is bound to seem haunted eventually."

"That makes sense," Jeremy conceded, reaching for a slice himself. He tried not to stare at the sensual way in which Damon's mouth closed around the pizza. Everything Damon did seemed deliberate and calculating. In reality, it all came naturally to the other man. His eyes darted across Damon's throat and down to his chest, where Jeremy found himself treated to a display of flesh thanks to Damon's shirt being several buttons open. "I'm still not convinced." Jeremy's voice hitched a little as he playfully continued, "You might have to take me through every room so I can see for myself."

"We should check the bedrooms first," Damon suggested at once. He loved watching Jeremy's eyes widen and seeing the blush creeping up his neck. "After all, that's where the spooky things are always hiding in horror movies, right? Lurking in the closet or under the bed... If we're going to look for ghosts, that seems like the place to start." He managed to sound utterly nonchalant about the idea despite feeling anything but. Damon was determined not to let himself get too out of hand, but he needed something - a touch, a taste, something to reassure himself that the connection he felt wasn't completely insane.

Jeremy's heart skipped a beat, thudding hard against his ribs. He could literally feel all pretense of remaining cool, calm and collected slipping through his fingers. Damon had made it clear where the night would be heading. Jeremy just couldn't quite wrap his head around the concept. He was ready--more than ready--for this moment to happen. And he wanted it to happen with Damon. It was the fact that someone as attractive, older and sophisticated as Damon wanted a messed up kid like him. //Stop questioning everything and roll with it,// Jeremy advised himself, ditching his pesky introspection. "You're right," he agreed at last. "We'd better make a thorough check... to be safe." Finishing off a slice of pizza, he washed it down with a mouthful of beer. "Should we get started?"

"Right away." Damon couldn't help but smile. He appreciated the brave front that Jeremy was putting on even if it was obviously false. It was still sweet. Even spoken only to himself, Damon choked on that word. He shouldn't be thinking anything like that about the boy. He should just be thinking of how he was going to make use of the opportunity that had presented itself without going too far. They were playing a game, and Damon intended to win. The mix of nerves and desire coming from Jeremy in waves was enough to lend a swagger to his walk as he sauntered upstairs. "Let's start with my room. I wouldn't want to be attacked by any ghosts while I'm trying to sleep." 

The vampire pushed his door open with a flourish and then turned to Jeremy spreading his arms wide. "The world is your oyster. Anything you'd like to see up close? The bed, maybe?"

If Jeremy's pulse had been racing before, his heart was fairly thundering inside of his chest at the invitation. His gaze swept over the room even as he mentally coached himself to calm his fluttering nerves. "Now that's what I call a bed," he exclaimed, taking a step forward. Indeed, he'd never seen one as large as Damon's. It looked as if it could sleep about five people comfortably. And then there was the room itself: dark and spacious, with elegant furnishings that probably cost more money than Jeremy was ever likely to see. Realizing that he and Damon were still playing a game, Jeremy grinned as he bent low to check beneath the enormous bed. He was completely unaware, however, of offering Damon an excellent view of his body's assets. "No ghosts under there," he called, adding as he continued to search, "unless they're hiding somewhere else."

The view was almost too much. Damon found himself staring without reserve at the teenager's tempting ass and imagining him bent over that mattress naked and screaming with pleasure. //Not tonight... but there are other things I wouldn't mind trying.// In a beat, Damon was on him, roughly turning Jeremy around and pushing him down onto the lush comforter. Before the boy had a chance to protest, Damon kissed him soundly. It was hard to hold anything back, but he didn't want this to be about anything but the pleasure. He wouldn't feed. Not yet. Thankfully Samuel had taken the edge off his hunger if not his desire.

Jeremy, completely unprepared for Damon's abrupt assault, felt his breath completely stolen away in the surprising yet welcome move. He had been literally aching for Damon to kiss him from the moment they'd met. Now that the moment was actually happening, it went far beyond anything Jeremy could have ever imagined. Damon's lips tasted like Heaven; soft and sweet, his mouth was nothing short of decadent. Jeremy groaned, one hand automatically diving into Damon's dark hair while clutching desperately at his back with the other. The kiss went on and on, and even when Jeremy's lungs started to burst from lack of air, he did not stop.

Damon sensed the need for a momentary pause and drew back. Jeremy's lust-blown eyes told the story of how badly he wanted it, and Damon breathed an internal sigh of relief. He wouldn't be saying no. That was good since Damon wasn't sure how readily he could have stopped. It was worth it to be patient and wait for some things, but Damon hadn't ever been the most patient of men. He was going to taste Jeremy - just not the usual way. "Has anyone ever sucked your cock before?" Pure need was taking over, and he didn’t notice that his eyes had gone blood red. 

"Damon!" Stefan burst into the room in a vibrating blur of motion. "He's gone, he..." The vampire broke off mid-sentence, staring in open shock at the figure lying beneath his brother. //Aleksander?// It couldn't be! It wasn't possible! Aleksander had been killed in the fire when all of Mystic Falls' vampires had been imprisoned within Fell's Church. Stefan--standing there gaping in complete shock--had all but forgotten about Samuel escaping from the basement.

Damon, who had looked away from Jeremy when his brother stepped into the room, finally looked back, trying to gauge how freaked out he was. It was too late to lie. The moment for that had passed. For someone who constantly berated him for being insensitive, Stefan certainly lacked a sense of tact. At least Jeremy didn't look terrified - concerned, perhaps, confused, but not frightened. That was a good sign, or at least he chose to take it as one. Stefan's original inspiration to interrupt them struck Damon belatedly, and he sat up. "Gone? Weren't you supposed to be watching him?"

“Now’s not the time, Damon. We both know this isn’t anything to joke about.” Stefan gathered himself enough to address Jeremy. “Sorry for the interruption. Would you mind waiting downstairs while I talk with my brother?”

"Sure," Jeremy answered, taking in the serious tone underscoring Stefan's request. "I could use a little fresh air." He glanced at Damon before leaving the room. The older man's eyes had returned to normal, and that only sent Jeremy's curiosity tingling that much more. 

As soon as the teenager had left the room, Stefan manhandled Damon and slammed him against the nearest wall. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded, pinning his brother with an elbow to his throat. 

"I was planning on doing him, but we were interrupted in case you didn't notice," Damon grated out. It was hard not looking toward the door Jeremy had just stepped through, and he silently cursed himself for having been sucked in so thoroughly. He knew what Stefan meant, though, and forced himself to meet his brother's eyes. "Or are you just mad that I found him first?"

Stefan glared at his brother for what seemed like an eternity before finally releasing his hold on Damon. "I hate Aleksander," he declared, "and you should too for what he did to us." He stalked over to his brother's dresser where he removed an old photograph from the top drawer. It depicted a handsome young man with an impassive expression who looked exactly like Jeremy Gilbert, the only difference being that he sported shoulder-length hair and wore nineteenth-century clothing. Stefan held the aged picture up. "You're still pining away for him. That's why you came back here." It wasn't a statement but an accusation. "Jeremy Gilbert is not Aleksander. Leave him alone, Damon."

"Of course he's not. Maybe that's what I like." The statement was meant to be sarcastic, but it fell somewhat flat, and Damon winced at how close to the truth it had fallen. He didn't hate Aleksander. He couldn't, no matter how much he should. "Besides, he isn't the only one who did this." Damon fixed his brother with a pointed stare and snatched the picture from his brother's hand. Stefan touching it was enough to irk him. "What I do with Jeremy is our business, not yours. I don't recall being given veto rights over who you're dating, high school boy."

"Damon, please don't do this," Stefan fairly pleaded. "It's bad enough you've been attacking and killing since you came back." He paused, frowning deeper. Stefan had been so caught up in the shock of discovering Jeremy being a dead ringer for Aleksander that he had completely forgotten why he'd burst into Damon's room in the first place. "Samuel... Damon, he freaked out and got away from me. He's out there somewhere. We've got to find him before he hurts someone." It was the perfect excuse to separate Damon and Jeremy. Stefan remembered all too well what Damon could be like where Aleksander was concerned, and he feared for Jeremy's safety. "We'd better see about getting your date home first."

"We aren't doing anything," Damon countered hotly. He didn't appreciate Stefan trying to step in and play white knight. "I'm not going to hurt him. I'll get him home." It really would be safer to have Jeremy out of harm's way if Samuel was running around and indulging instincts he was too young and stupid to fully understand. "You start finding our little friend. I'll call you when Jeremy's home." He swept out of the room and found Jeremy downstairs lingering near the front door. "I'm sorry for the interruption. Family problems. I'm afraid I have to go find a... cousin that's gone off the wagon." Damon fell silent, wondering whether Jeremy would even be willing to go with him after what had happened earlier. "I'll drive you home."

"Oh." Jeremy couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice. It was selfish of him, of course. If Damon's cousin needed help, then a date was the least important thing in the world. Left to think by himself, Jeremy had pondered over the intense moment he and Damon had shared. The kiss was unlike anything he had ever experienced. Breathless and aching afterward, he was a little shocked to contemplate how easily he would have given in for more. If Stefan hadn't interrupted them, how far would things might have gone? Then, there was the odd change in Damon's eyes. Did it really happen, or had Jeremy just imagined it in the heat of the moment? After all, Damon had left him feeling pretty dazed...

"Is there anything I can do to help?" he offered, hating to see the night end.

Damon considered that for a moment. It was tempting to say yes just so that he could spend more time with Jeremy, but that would be stupid, not to mention dangerous. Instead he gave a slight shake of his head. "I'm afraid I should drop you off. He's not quite himself when he's like this. A little... dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt." That much, at least, was true. Hoping to take some of the sting out of it, Damon leaned in, brushed a kiss against Jeremy's lips, and then whispered in his ear, "But I'm going to want an answer to my question the next time I see you."

Jeremy blushed right down to his toes. "S'long as you don't forget to ask." He flashed Damon a grin that crinkled the corners of his eyes. His pulse continued to hammer, and he shivered with excitement thanks to Damon's closeness. Jeremy's lips tingled as he added softly, "I hope your cousin's gonna be okay." Moving out of the house and back into Damon's car, the teenager's mind replayed the heated moment he and Damon had shared. Exactly what had happened? He glanced over at Damon and saw nothing except an unbelievably sexy and handsome man. //This's crazy,// Jeremy told himself. 

"I'm sure he'll be just fine." //Once I put a stake through his heart.// If Samuel was going to run amok in town, killing him would be easier than using him as a cover. Stefan had been right - he didn't want to spend his time cleaning up bodies if he could be spending it making out with Jeremy instead. When he finally dropped the young man off, Damon indulged in another lingering kiss. "Now you go get some sleep. Believe me, you'll want to be well rested when we try this whole date thing again."

Samuel lingered in the shadows until he saw Damon driving away again. He'd never minded tempting fate before, and if Jeremy smelled as good up close as he did from afar, it would be worth it. The blood bags had helped, but Samuel was still starving. He'd barely been able to contain himself on the way over. The sight of Jeremy looking deliciously vulnerable left him wanting nothing more than to take him on the front lawn. //Not smart... we should go inside...// Stepping out of the shadows, he tried to smile casually. "Hey."

Jeremy, still in a daze from Damon's kiss, whirled around in surprise. "Sam?" He peered into the darkness, his eyes widening in shock. "Oh my god... Sam, I thought you were dead!" Taking a step forward, Jeremy placed a hand on Samuel's arm and steered him toward the house. "You look like hell," he declared once he could see the other teen in the porch light. "What happened?" Samuel didn't look up to answering questions, Jeremy decided. And he quickly unlocked the front door. "You'd better come inside."

"Yeah, thanks, you tell a guy he looks like shit then invite him in." Samuel rolled his eyes, but in truth he appreciated the gesture. Jeremy always had been a sweetheart - too much so for his own good, really. "I'm alive and kinda well. Crashed with a friend. Things were kind of weird there last night... after you left." Once Jeremy had safely escorted him up to his room, Samuel let himself lean in and snaked his arms around the other teen's neck. "I was worried about you too. That's why I came by."

Awkward didn't quite describe the moment. Jeremy had always liked Samuel. Indeed, the other teen had been his first experience with having a crush on another guy. But now that Jeremy had met Damon, things were different. "You'd better sit down," he encouraged Samuel. Disentangling himself, Jeremy led his friend over to a chair in the corner of his bedroom. "Do you remember what happened? I mean, if you don't want to talk about it, that's okay. It's just... you said it was weird." He sat down on the edge of his bed, trying to figure out how and why Samuel had survived the animal attack when no one else had.

"Yeah... things were kinda confusing." Samuel shook his head. He remembered it all. He remembered Damon coming out of the mist, remembered the man grabbing him, and then it all got fuzzy until later, until he'd woken feeling sore and uncertain with blood on his neck. //Who the hell does he think he is, anyway, calling dibs on Jeremy?// Maybe they weren't boyfriends, exactly, but he and Jeremy at least had some kind of history. "I dunno... nothing's real clear till I woke up. I crashed at a... a friend's place..." The longer he was so close to Jeremy, the better the mortal smelled. Samuel's fingers tightened on the armrests of the chair, and he tried to resist the urge to lunge across the space between them, push Jeremy back on the bed and feed until he'd had his fill. "Guess I was just really wasted."

"Maybe it was a good thing you were too out of it to know what happened?" Jeremy suggested. He couldn't help but notice how anxious Samuel seemed to be. But then, he supposed anyone would be after finding out all of your friends had been killed. Jeremy remembered how he'd freaked when he heard the news. He leaned forward, clasping his hands together as he peered at Samuel with concerned eyes. "Can I get you something? You look like you could use a drink." Even though Alaric had taken to hiding all the alcohol in the house, Jeremy knew exactly where to find the good stuff. After the shock of discovering that Samuel was alive, he needed a little something himself.

That was putting it mildly. Samuel nodded slowly. "Yeah, that'd be good. Something to take the edge off." He wondered if it would work, if doing a couple shots would really help keep him from doing everything he wanted to do to Jeremy. The scent of his blood and the sound of his heart was overpowering. "If it's cool, that'd help, yeah." //Hopefully.// The truth was that he liked Jeremy, and Samuel had no idea whether he'd be able to hold back at all if it came down to it. 

"I'll be right back." That decided, Jeremy crept downstairs and recovered a bottle of whiskey from what Alaric mistakenly thought was an ideal hiding place. As he made his way back to his bedroom, the teenager couldn't help but notice that his guardian's light was still on. Since Ric hadn't stepped out, Jeremy figured the older man had fallen asleep waiting up for him. He took careful steps past the door before diving into his own room. "Found the good stuff," he announced, taking a swig from the bottle before passing it to Samuel.

Samuel took a long pull from the bottle and winced. It had nothing to do with the hot bite of the alcohol and everything to do with the fact that it didn't taste half as good as the blood. He sat mere inches from someone full of the stuff, hot and ready and... Samuel looked away before he could lose complete control. //I shouldn't have come here.// It had made a sick sort of sense when he stepped out, full of bloodlust and anger toward Damon, but now he was genuinely afraid of hurting Jeremy. "Thanks. Maybe... I should maybe get going..."

Jeremy intervened almost at once. "You're in no condition to go anywhere," he protested, placing a firm hand on Samuel's shoulder. "Why don't you crash here?" Without waiting for a response, Jeremy was already moving over to the closet to retrieve an extra pillow and a blanket. He realized that Samuel probably needed to contact the police to let them know that he was alive. And then there was his family. They were probably going crazy with worry. "Do you want to call anybody?" Jeremy asked, turning back to Samuel. 

"No... no, it's fine, I-" The words died on his tongue when he spotted what Jeremy had been working on in the sketchbook lying open on the floor. The drawing was unmistakably Damon, the burning eyes enough in and of themselves to give it away. Cold fury gripped Samuel as he studied the graphite marks. The man had attacked him, killed their friends, and Jeremy was sketching him, mooning over him like an idiot. He had no idea...

Jeremy had busied himself with making a makeshift bed for Samuel. After tonight with Damon it somehow didn't seem right to share a bed, even platonically. Awkward didn't quite describe how he felt, and he briefly toyed with the idea of telling Samuel. //Not tonight. He's been through enough already.// Turning back to his friend, Jeremy's heart thudded as he found Samuel staring at the sketch he'd made of Damon. "Oh, that," he started, "I-" Jeremy broke off, his breath catching in his throat. Samuel's eyes had changed exactly the same way Damon's had! They were blood red, and dark veins created the illusion of cracks around his eyes. "Sam... your eyes..."

Suddenly flustered, Samuel took a step back and tried to breathe through the anger. He didn't want to hurt Jeremy, not really. He'd been angry, annoyed, jealous, but... Too shaken to run the way he should have, Samuel sank down onto the edge of the bed and gripped the comforter as if to keep some sort of control over his hands. All the fight seemed to have drained out of the fledgling in a heartbeat, and he murmured, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't've come... I... I just... I didn't know where to go..." 

"No, it's okay," Jeremy intervened, noting that Samuel's eyes had segued back to normal. //What the hell is going on?// One thing was for sure, the change he'd seen in Damon's eyes hadn't been his imagination. Jeremy wouldn't be satisfied until he got to the bottom of it. Right now, however, Samuel seemed to be one the verge of freaking out. "I'm just tired and I think I've taken to seeing things lately." He tried to shrug it off and make his friend feel comfortable again. If he was ever going to learn anything, then the last thing he wanted was to scare Samuel. 

"Things like him," Samuel answered with a nod toward the drawing pad. If he knew what Damon was... but Samuel couldn't bring himself to even try and explain it. He was a monster. They both were. He could feel the panic rising again and tried to shrug it off. "Nevermind. Not like we... hope it works out," he murmured before grabbing the bottle of whiskey again and taking a liberal swig. 

Talking about Damon with Samuel wasn't something he wanted to get into right now. "Are you sure I can't get you anything else?" he wondered, moving past his open bedroom window. The night wind caused the curtains to billow, and Jeremy drew back with a start when an inky-black crow appeared on the window sill. The bird blinked up at him before squawking out a cry.

Samuel jumped, startled in his own right. He swallowed hard. Damon knew where he was. Sudden panic rose inside him. "He knows I'm here... I... it's not safe..." No, it was safe for Jeremy. Damon wanted him. //He'll kill me for being here.// Samuel rose and then turned, not sure whether to run or hide in the closet or whether anything would really help. "If he finds me... if he finds me here with you..."

"What the hell are you talking about? Who's going to find you?" Jeremy was beginning to think his drug theory was correct. There was simply no other way to explain Samuel's freak-out. And that damned crow wasn't helping matters, flapping its ebony wings and filling the room with its screeching cries. Any minute now Alaric or Elena would hear the commotion and burst into the room to find out what was going on. Jeremy grabbed a pillow and tried to scare the bird off, but this only seemed to make matters worse. His eyes flicked to the street below and Jeremy's breath caught. "Damon?"

As soon as the figure appeared, it was gone, and Jeremy turned to Samuel. He was beginning to feel like he was the one on a bad trip. “What the hell is going on? How do you know Damon?”

Samuel didn't reply directly, just reached for Jeremy's arm, gripping it harder than he'd really meant to. "He'll kill me... Jer, please..." There was a knock at the door downstairs. "Don't let him in. He won't hurt you. He wouldn't... but... please? Jeremy, please?" Samuel knew that he shouldn't even ask. Whatever they had been, they weren't anymore, and Samuel knew he was asking Jeremy to do something that could get him really hurt. //But who else can I ask?// 

"Jer? Jeremy? What's going on?" Came Elena's frantic call from the other side of the door. 

Any minute now Alaric would join her, and Jeremy knew his guardian would waste no time busting into the room. He swatted at the crow with a pillow to no avail, while desperately trying to glance out of the window to try and discern if it was really Damon he spotted.

The crow lifted itself out of the way and dove for Samuel, pecking at him while the other teen swatted just as fruitlessly at it. 

As predicted, the door crashed open a moment later, Alaric bursting in with Elena close at his heels. He took the scene in and was momentarily struck dumb by the sight of the bird attacking a young man. //Samuel.// He'd banished the teen from the house after he found Sam and Jeremy out back lighting up. The kid was a bad influence and a terrible friend, preying on Jeremy when he was most vulnerable. Before he could point either of those things out, the boy took off, shoving past him and Elena and out into the hallway. The bird seemed to take that as a cue and executed a graceful circuit of the room before darting out the window. "What the hell is going on in here?" Alaric demanded, utterly at a loss.

Jeremy felt just as perplexed, if not more so. "I... I don't know!" he exclaimed in a stammer. Samuel had disappeared almost as swiftly as the crow, leaving Jeremy completely bewildered. "A bird came into the window, and Sam freaked out... and..." He tossed the pillow back on his bed in frustration before rushing back to the open window. The street outside was devoid of life; there was no sign of Samuel, Damon or even that damned bird. Jeremy's first instinct was to rush out of the house and try to track down either of the men. However, as he turned, he found himself facing a very angry Alaric Saltzman. "Okay, I know you never wanted Sam in the house again," Jeremy started to plead his case. "But I thought he was dead! And he looked like hell... and he needed a place to stay."

Between the rather pitiful words, the pleading puppy dog eyes and a long, reproachful stare from Elena, Alaric found himself slowly trying to shake off his annoyance. "Okay," he began before taking another deep breath, "okay, I get it. It's been a rough couple days. You just hafta realize that you weren't the only one freaked out by that." He looked over at Elena. "We know how close you came to getting hurt the other night.” Alaric’s gaze hardened as he forced himself to amend, “Killed."

Elena nodded solemnly and reached for her brother's hand. "It's scary for us too. Did your friend see anything in the woods?"

"No," Jeremy shook his head with a sigh. "He doesn't remember anything. I think he was too out of it from the drugs... or whatever he was taking that night." Closing the window, Jeremy pushed the drapes aside as he took one last look outside. Still no sign of anyone or anything. //Why is Samuel so freaked out over Damon? What's going on with their eyes?// Sinking down on his bed, the teenager blew his bangs out of his eyes in frustration.

"I tried to get Sam to call the police or his family, but he wouldn't." He glanced between Elena and Alric, adding, "Honest, I'm just as in the dark as you two."

Finally Alaric nodded. "Okay. Just... be careful. I don't trust him. I know, I know... you know that part already. Doesn't make it any less true. Maybe the kid doesn't know anything about what happened, but maybe he does." Alaric knew better than to think a "wild animal attack" was anything so innocuous, but that didn't mean Elena and Jeremy needed to know it. "I promised to look after you both and keep you safe," he explained in a gentler tone. "I intend to do it."

"And we both appreciate it, Ric," Jeremy replied, sounding genuinely grateful for the first time since his parents' death. "Look, I'm not going back out tonight. I'm just gonna sit right here and try to figure out what happened." He lifted his eyes almost imploringly in Alaric's direction. "Okay?" What Jeremy really wanted to do was hop on his computer and do some much-needed research. Something weird and scary was going on. And he hoped he could find the answers with a few keystrokes. 

"Okay," the man agreed, for once giving in without protest. He could see that Jeremy was genuinely unsettled and waited while Elena gave her brother a warm hug and whispered, "I love you," against his ear. The two of them had been through too much already, more than they should have had to face so young. //And if things in town are heating up the way I think, it's only going to get worse.// "Sleep tight." It sounded stupid, but Alaric had never been good at the touchy feely parts of taking care of the Gilberts. Protecting them came naturally, being natural with "parenting" was a bit different. Hoping that the whole thing might at least have given Jeremy something to think about, he closed the door behind him and set out for his own lonely bed.


End file.
